But the rate at which honey solidifies, or ‘goes to sugar’ as it used to be called, is not determined only by whether the honey has been heated.

It's also influenced by the floral source of the honey.

Some Honeys Solidify Very Slowly...

Here in East Texas, where I’ve been beekeeping for years, the primary sources of spring honey granulate (solidify) very slowly.

I’ve had honey sit on the cupboard shelf for years without granulating.

And that’s honey that was completely raw.

I had extracted it from the comb, and strained it through cheesecloth (I prefer my honey without bee parts in it, thank you!).

No heating at all, and no other form of processing.

As raw as honey can be, and it takes years to harden.

So when buying raw honey, you really can’t assume that solidified honey is raw. And you also can't assume that runny honey isn’t raw.

Is Your Honey Chunky? It Doesn’t Have to Be!

Another common misconception about honey is that if it's raw, it will contain chunks of wax, pollen, and other 'stuff.'

Again, not necessarily true.

Some popular brands of raw honey are packed with very minimal processing.

That much is true.

Chunks of beeswax, bits of pollen and propolis, and maybe even the occasional bee part are left in the honey.

That's all well and good if you like those things. There’s certainly no harm in consuming the ‘chunky’ parts.

The bits of pollen and propolis even add some nutrition. (Though again, I’ll pass on the bee parts. But that’s just me!)

But honey can be strained to remove all of those solids without harming the honey.

And it’s still raw.

Pressure filtering – not straining – is what disqualifies honey from being considered raw.

So if you like your honey chunky, fine.

But just know that you can enjoy the goodness of raw honey without having to pick out the occasional bee leg from between your teeth.

You Can't Tell From the Taste, Either

You can't tell if honey is raw by it's appearance. And you also can't really tell by the taste.

Now if you had a batch of honey straight from the hive, pasteurized some of it and left some of it raw, and then did a taste comparison of the two, you’d be able to tell a difference.

But just to take a random jar of honey, sample it, and be able to declare from taste alone that it’s raw, or not – nope.

Some may claim they can do that, but I’m highly skeptical (maybe we need to have a beekeeper’s version of the Pepsi challenge!).

Then How CAN You Tell If Honey is Raw?

OK, we've dispelled some of the myths of raw honey. You now know that some of the so-called sure signs of raw honey are anything but.

That raises a question, though: How CAN you tell if honey is raw?

If you can’t tell by the chunks, and you can’t tell by the consistency, and you can't tell by the taste - then how can you tell whether honey is raw?

I'm afraid the TRUE answer to that question is rather unsatisfying: You can’t.

I know – not the answer you were hoping for.

But it’s the truth.

You simply can’t tell that honey is raw just by its appearance, consistency or flavor.

It Comes Down to Trust...

The truth is that whether you’re buying raw honey from a local beekeeper or from a large company that ships honey internationally, you have to trust the labeling.

Or perhaps a better way to put that: you have to decide if you trust the labeling.

But is that so different from the multitudes of other products we buy?

Pick up a jar of peanut butter at the grocery store that’s labeled as completely natural, for example.

How do you know?

Pick up a jar of natural maple syrup at the store that’s labeled as containing no high fructose corn syrup.

How do you know?

Unless you're personally acquainted with the beekeeper that produced your honey (and there’s still some trust involved there) or become a beekeeper yourself and harvest your own honey (which I highly recommend!), you have to decide whether to trust the labeling.

If You REALLY Want Raw Honey…

If you want honey in it’s purest, most raw state, try some comb honey.

That’s honey in its most natural state. In my opinion, it’s honey at its tastiest. And it's the one type of honey that you can buy that you know is raw, without a doubt.

Give it try!

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